2012 Fiat 500 Sport: Do the Parents Fit?

August 17, 2011

This weekend my parents were in town but I forgot they were visiting and had signed out our short-termer Fiat 500C. Oops. So I ended up having to shuttle them around town in the backseat of the small car. Surprisingly, even though Mom and Pops (both 5'5") are about 160-170 pounds each they fit nicely back there. They still had elbow room and comfortable-enough legroom even with the front seats allowing enough room for the front passengers. Then again, my folks DO have short legs.

Since that was the drop-top 500 I wanted to see if it was any different from our regular 500 in terms of rear space.

But nope, their dimensions (in inches) are basically the same with the 500C offering a smidge more headroom.

500

500C

Rear hiproom

42.6

42.0

Rear headroom

35.6

36.8

Rear legroom

31.7

31.7

Rear shoulder room

46.4

46.4

The only thing about driving parents around in the Fiat is that we couldn't really exploit its go-kart-ness. Not only because my parents hate it when I drive "fast" but the extra weight in the back made the car a bit sluggish anyway.

Also, since the front seats don't exactly allow a lot of room for backseat passengers to get out, it was a bit difficult for these senior citizens to exit the vehicle. However, holding my mom's big, ol' purse while I let her grab hold of my hand to help steady her eased the process.

They did like the car though, thinking it was "cute" and fun.

Funny small-car moment: When my dad got in the backseat and went to buckle up, he grabbed the driver's seatbelt from the B-pillar thinking it was his. OK, guess you had to be there.